Too little too late
by GPR
Summary: Gibbs was always effected by Kate's death, but what if he felt more then friendship for her? Kate/Gibbs short story.


I have often wondered if Gibbs was in love with Kate so this is a short story just to try and explain all the tender moments they shared together, enjoy.

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Gibbs sat at his p.c., sighing in relief that the day was finally over. He momentarily paused and pulled a draw out from his desk. It sat there, the white cover slowly turning cream with age. He pulled it out and wiped off the dust it had collected there. He lifted up the first several pages and smiled, the sketch of himself was drawn so delicatly and with such precision that it looked like the drawer had taken months to perfect it. Gibbs traced a lone finger across the thin lines Katelyn Todd had crafted onto the page.

He missed her; he missed her playful banter with Tony, her cheeky comments and warm smile. Several years had passed since Kate's death, yet it still played on his mind. Why? Why did he still think of her? Why did he miss everything she used to do? He found himself asking those questions over and over again. He had one answer; that he had somehow fallen in love with her. That it had happened so slowly he had hardly noticed his own feelings. In fact it couldn't even be true; Gibbs fell in love with red heads, never the stunningly dark tresses that Kate had supported.

Her eyes...they had been so amazingly brown, beautifully dark. Gibbs had always found himself swooning after green eyes, and yet Kate's eyes were so different, they were gorgeous and captivating. There was this attraction he had for her that he had felt for no one else. It seemed impossible that Leroy Jethro Gibbs had been in love with Katelyn Todd, yet he had. Sometimes he still felt that he was in love with her, even though so many days, months and years had ticked passed without her.

He had never told her, he had left it too long. She had died without knowing why he smiled at her and at no one else, she had died without knowing why he covered her in a blanket when she felt asleep at her desk late at night, she had died without knowing the man she adressed by his surname had been deeply in love with her. Gibbs had often wondered if she had ever felt the same, he had even wondered how her lips tasted. That was something he regretted, he had so many moments alone with her and yet he had never kissed her. They had looked lucious and full of vibrant life, why had never caught her lips in his own?

Gibbs lowered his eyes back to the sketch, 'Kate...' his whisper was lost in the night, no one to hear it, '...I love you.'

'_Really?' her faint whisper echoed in his head, 'I never knew...I...I love you too.'_

That was what he hoped she would have said, if she was still with him, standing before his desk raising her eyebrows and grinning as she usually did all those years ago. Gibbs turned to the desk she used to occupy, imagining her there. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he remembered his most treasured memory of her.

'_Come on Gibbs, smile,' Kate looked over at him from her desk, 'only a few more minutes and we can go home.'_

_They were alone, Tony and McGee had already turned in for the night. Her eyes flashed in happiness and she attacked the keyboard in eagerness. Her dark locks falling past her ears and onto her face. Gibbs laughed, shaking his head._

'_Who wants to go home when you've got coffee, blankets and a case to solve?' he asked her._

'_All work and no play Gibbs.' She joked._

'_What play?' he raised an eyebrow at her._

'_Don't you have some red head waiting for you in a car somewhere?' she replied, bantering playfully with him._

'_Why would I when I have you here Kate?' he had decide he was going to say it when she had mentioned all work and no play. He would leave her to work out what he meant for herself, he stood up to leave, walking past a turning rapidly scarlet Kate._

Gibbs rubbed his eyes, it was nearly midnight. He shut down his computer and stood up to leave. Sighing for one last time, Gibbs glanced back at then Kate's now Ziva's empty desk. He smiled sadly one last time, 'Good night Kate.' And with that he turned off the lights.

END

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Please review, I want to know what you think, maybe I'll write more Kate/Gibbs stories if you really like this one.

GPR


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